Legacy
by XxPokeWriterxX
Summary: Dante has just loged in to Legacy, a game closely resembling the original SOA in gameplay. This is his journey through the game with friends he makes along the way. But when a hacker appears and players lives are on the line, will Dante and his friends be up to the task of stopping him. All OC M for maybe later chapters and some language.
1. Chapter 1

Legacy

Introduction

Legacy, the most popular VRMMORPG in history, has taken the place of Sword Art Online. Launched in 2028, in just two short years every person on the planet knew about it and millions of players log in every day. In game Legacy took the form of a massive tower, though while playing it you would never know it. No one knows how many levels there are in Legacy and every level is an individual world. Some are huge, whole virtual planets, while others consisted of just a single town or building. Legacy embraced a no guns rule. Being a fantasy based game; it focused on the use of hand-to-hand weapons, anything including daggers and spears even fisticuffs, and magic, weaving spells that could cause any number of effects, from attacks to support, besides magic the only long range weapon are bows. The point of the game, for those who used it for more than just hanging out with friends or casual gaming, was to be the first reach the top of Legacy and claim the title of the Master of Legacy as well as a mysterious reward.

In the two years Legacy has been up and running, a hardcore class of gamers started to appear. They are the ones that spend most of their time in the game, dedicated to claiming the title and reward, which is said to leave you set for life in the real world. Our story starts when a gamer by the name of Dante logs on for the first time.

Chapter 1

Set-Up

"Alright time to set things up." Dante says to himself, brushing his medium length black hair out of his eyes. He put the silvery, Sensory Helmet over his head, lay on his bed, and pressed the on button. The visor lights up and information started to scroll across the screen. The Helmet was running its start-up program, calibrating itself to Dante's body. In just a few minutes it was done and the list of his games appears. He had been gaming for years but this was his first time logging into Legacy. He was actually very lucky he was getting to play the game. Even as popular as it is, Legacy is a very expensive game. When it first came out the only people playing were the rich, those that could afford the hundreds of dollars just to buy the game. Over time less well off people were able to save up to buy a copy but it was still expensive, especially for a seventeen year old kid with no job.

Dante was lucky he was such a good gamer. A local game store had been held a contest that he was able to win easily and the prize was a copy of the game. Now he had finished installing it into his Sensory Helmet and was ready to play. The screen started to ask Dante start up questions. When he was done he entered the game. The Helmet gave a beep and Dante closed his eyes. There was a small jolt from the Helmet and when he opened his eyes again he was floating over the world of Legacy. His cloths had changed, his everyday cloths replaced with light leather armor covering a long sleeve black shirt and loose brown pants, his appearance is the same as in the real world.

"Welcome to Legacy." A gentle female voice says all around him. Beneath him stretched rolling flatland and sprawling medieval cities. The scene changed, he was flying through a cave, torches placed at regular intervals, tunnels flashed pass and he could see monsters hiding in them. "This is Legacy, it is comprised of many different lands, all connected. Your mission in this game is to claim the title of Master of Legacy." The scene kept flashing every few seconds, an underwater city, a colony on the moon, a space station rotating in space, all these scenes passed under him. Suddenly they stopped; he started to float gently toward a sunny field, short grassing blowing in the gentle breeze. He landed softly on his feet and a screen appeared, floating a couple of feet in front of him.

"Please choose you starting weapon." The voice says. On the screen five symbols appear. The first is a sword then an axe. The list continues with a spear, a glove and a staff, representing magic. Dante glances at the options and, after only a second of thinking, presses the sword option. "You have chosen swords." The options disappear and a spot starts to glow on the ground. With a soft glow a plain, straight double-edged sword materializes, its point buried in the ground, and a scabbard appears alongside it. "Please claim your weapon." Dante picks up the scabbard and buckles it to his right hip, then pulls the sword from the ground and slides it into the scabbard. "Prepare for battle." The screen suddenly disappears.

Startled Dante quickly draws his sword. "Battle already, damn" Most games gave you a tutorial before throwing you into battle. He starts turning slowly, his sword held in one hand in front of him. Suddenly he hears the sound of hooves running across the grass. He turns toward the sound just as a large boar slams into his side, sending him flying backward. Dante notices a HUD screen on the outside of his vision. He can see his HP and Level, and as he watches his HP gage drops a few points. Ignoring the ache in his side, he gets to his feet and readies his sword. The boar turns and charges again. This time Dante is ready and dodges to the side, slashing with his sword, scoring the monster along its side. The boar squeals and vanishes in a burst of light. He hears a musical tone.

"Congratulation on your first victory." The voice says, and a white screen appears in front of him, announcing his growth. "This concludes the tutorial for Legacy. If you have further question, please consult the Help option in the Main Menu. Thank you for playing Legacy." The screen disappears and Dante is left to his own devices. He takes a few minutes to familiarize himself with the menu option then pulls up the map.

"Looks like there's a town a couple hours from here, well I guess I should get walking." He closes the map and head off in the direction of the town. During his trip he is attacked by more boar and a few wolves. He is just an hour away from the town when he hears howling coming over a hill on his left. He draws his sword and runs toward the sound. He crests the hill and sees someone surrounded by monsters.

He rushes to their side just as a wolf leaps toward the person, jaws gaping ready to bite. Dante raises his sword and the wolf bites down on the blade. With a twist of his wrist he yanks the sword out of the wolf's mouth and slashes through its head, killing it. He looks around and sees that they are surrounded by a dozen others, all preparing to attack. He readies his sword and gets ready to defend the person. Out of the corner of his eye he sees one leap at him. He dodges and takes it out with one strike, just as another lunged for him. He turns just as the wolf bursts into flame. The hooded figure twirls a staff extinguishing the flame on the end.

"Thanks for the help; let's take care of the rest before the Alpha shows up." It says.

"Alpha?" Dante asks.

"Yeah I'm on a mission to take care of this pack of wolves, so far the Alpha hasn't shown up yet but it will soon." With that the person takes up position at Dante's back and gets ready to fight. Dante does the same and the wolves attack. Dante and the stranger hold their ground, finishing the rest of the pack off in a few minutes. Just as they start to lower their guard a huge shadow barrels into them, separating them. Dante and the stranger quickly leap back to their feet, spinning to face the Alpha. It starts growling loudly, eyeing both players. They can see him sniffing the air, picking out his target.

"Are you still good to fight?" The stranger asks

"I'm good; we should wait for it to attack. Whoever it attacks will distract it, the other will take advantage and attack. Sound good?" Dante asks.

"Yes, get ready here it comes." The Alpha jerks it head and suddenly leaps toward Dante. Ready for it, Dante brings his sword up and deflects its gleaming claws. It lands in front of Dante and starts swiping with its claws, trying to slash Dante. He blocks every blow but is unable to attack back; Dante and the Alpha are equal in speed.

Then the tables turn. A bright fire suddenly blooms in the fading light, Dante watches as the fire streaks toward him and the Alpha. The stranger brings their burning staff down on the Alpha's head, a loud crack and a burst of embers following the strike. Dazed, the Alpha spins around to attack the stranger. Dante, however, makes his own attack, slicing along the Alpha's hind leg. The monster starts limping, slowed down considerably, and with a few more strikes from both players, it falls and disappears in a burst of light. Dante sheathes his sword and walks over to the stranger. As the Alpha disappears a white screen blinks on. "Mission Complete, Congratulations" A voice says. An experience display pops up showing both players had received Exp. The stranger walks to where the Alpha died and picks up what looks like a claw. The person brings up a menu and, with a few clicks the claw disappears into their items.

"Thanks again, my name's Flora." The stranger says. She pulls down her hood and long bright green hair falls down her back. Her face is soft and kind-looking but Dante can see the heat of battle flushing her cheeks, her bright red eyes sparkling in the setting sun's light. She holds her hand out.

"You're welcome, I'm glad I could help. My name is Dante." He takes her hand and shakes it. When he does Flora gasps loudly. She sees the right sleeve of his shirt blowing in the wind, empty.

"What happened to your arm, I didn't know that we could lose body parts in-game." She says.

"It didn't happen in the game, I was in an accident in the real world when I was younger." He tells her.

"Really but why didn't you alter your avatar to have both arms?" She asks.

"I figured I'm already used to only having one arm, why change it." He tells her. For some reason he feels very comfortable around her, he usually never talks about his arm with anyone. "Anyway, we should get back to town; it will be fully dark soon."

"Yeah, let's get going." They find the dirt path that leads to town and start following it. "So how long have you been playing Legacy, what level are you?" Flora asks.

"This is my first day and I've been playing four or five hours; I'm level five." He tells her.

"Wow, you're that good after only a few hours, it took me a week to get this far. The mission I was on is for at least level seven or higher, the Alpha Claw is proof that I finished the mission. I'm level seven now and I wouldn't have been able to do it alone. If you hadn't shown up I would have been screwed. Have you been to Variety yet?" She asks.

"If that's the name of the town then no, I've been out in the field hunting monsters." Dante tells her.

"Wow, most players go to town and stock up on items or party up before they do that. It's kind of impressive that you didn't." Flora says with a smile.

"Yeah but I have lots of experience playing these kinds of game, so I know what to expect."

"So what do you have planed when we get into town?" Flora asks.

"I was thinking I was going to quit for the night. Tomorrow is Saturday so I plan to play all day." Dante says.

"Cool, do you want to party up tomorrow, I know some missions we can do together and I have a friend who is meeting me in Variety tomorrow, we can all play together." She offers just as they are walking into the south gate of the town.

"Sounds fun, where should we meet?" He asks.

"There is a fountain in the middle of town how about we meet there in the morning?"

"Alright, I'm looking forward to it." He tells her. She smiles and walks further into town, off to finish her mission. Dante brings up the main menu and, after checking his growth, pleased at his progress, he logs off.

**Author's Note: I recently watch the whole of Sword Art Online and an hooked. I love it! I'm eleven episodes it SOA 2. I thought with all the worlds made by The Seed the possibility's for fanfiction is endless so here's my part. i hope you like it (I'm having a lot of fun writing it) and please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Partying Up

Dante walks into the square of Varity. It was time for him to meet up with Flora and her friend. He had been playing a couple of hours by himself however. He had gotten his level up to match Flora's and had gone shopping. He was now outfitted with better gear including a long, black coat altered to fit his missing arm and a better sword, slightly heavier than his old one and much more powerful. With his new gear equipped he made his way to the fountain. Just as he settles onto the edge of the fountain, he hears his name being called. He looks toward the sound and sees Flora running toward him, pulling another girl by the hand.

"Hey Dante, you look different. Oh cool, you changed your equipment. It looks good on you." She says to him. She is wearing tight fitting red robes, announcing she is a magic user, and thigh high boots. "This is my friend Clare. Clare, say hi to Dante." She pulls her friend around in front of her.

"Hi Dante." She says in a quiet voice. Clare has short blue hair and brown, liquid eyes, like she could burst into tears at any second. She is wearing a loose fitting white blouse and brown leather pants. On her hands she has two finger archery gloves and a bow strapped onto her back.

"Hey Clare, it's nice to meet you. How long have you been playing Legacy?" He asks. Clare just blushes and hides back behind Flora. Confuses he looks at Flora, "Was it something I said?"

"No, sigh, she's just really shy. Give her some time to warm up to you and you won't be able to get her to shut up." Flora explains. "OUCH, what was that for!" She jumps, rubbing her butt. She spins to glare at Clare. She throws a look over her shoulder at Dante, "She just pinched me!"

Dante just laughs at Flora and Clare, earning him a smile from Clare. "So Flora, what mission do you have lined up for today?" Dante asks her. She spins back to face him, her hands covering her butt, protecting it from Clare.

"Yeah, okay, I picked one up before we came here, you just have to join our party and we can get started." She tells him, bringing up the Main Menu and inviting Dante to join her and Clare. When the screen pops up on his end he taps Accept and is in their party. On his HUD he sees Flora's and Clare's health gage and level, he is a little surprised to see that Clare is three levels higher than Flora and himself.

"Wow Clare you must be pretty good, you're a higher level than both of us." Dante says to her.

"Thanks, I like playing Legacy." She says softly. Flora elbows her lightly in the ribs.

"She's being modest; she is one of the best shots in Variety. She has helped me out of tough situations bunches of times." Flora says.

"Very impressive, it will be great to have such a strong player on our team." Dante says to her, making her duck behind Flora again. "Well, are you two ready to head out, I'm eager to test out my new sword." The girls nod and they head for the north gate out of town.

"So where exactly are we going, Flora?" Dante asks. Flora brings up her map for them to look at, and they see a gold dot blinking a short distance from away; they were walking straight toward it.

"There is a monster in a group of trees that is attacking everything around it. It's a much higher level than should be around that area and has been killing a lot of low level brand new players; it's close to one of the spots new player enter the game. You might have met it if you had been dropped into a different area."

"That would have sucked, then I wouldn't have met you and Clare." He says glancing back at Clare, who is following a couple of steps behind him, she peek at him at the mention of her name but quickly looks away again. "How strong is this monster exactly, remember, I've only been playing a day."

"We'll be fine, the monster is level nine. With both of us and Clare there's no way it could beat up." She says optimistically. They continue walking and shortly they see a group of trees rise up in the distance, the path they are following goes straight through them.

"I can see why players would be having a problem with a strong monster here; it's the only path that goes into Variety from the North." Dante observes.

"Yeah, it found a good place to hang around, that's for sure." Flora replies. Dante hears quick footsteps behind them and Clare raises her arm in between them. They look to where she is pointing and see a dark shape rise up out of the trees and start to move toward them.

"It is a gryphon monster." Clare says.

"How can you tell, it's so far away." Dante asks.

"She has a high identify skill; it helps her to be able to see far away. It's a very good skill for an archer to have." Flora answers for her. Dante looks at Clare and sees she is reading her weapon. Dante does the same, as does Flora. "We need to keep the Gryphon away from Clare. She's no good at close combat. Even if it is stronger than us if we work together we should easily be able to hold it off and give Clare the shot she needs to take it out. What's your plan Clare?"

"I will take out its wings. If it cannot fly you and Dante can fight it better." She tells them. "Flora you should use Lightning, not fire. It's weak to Lightning."

"Great, thanks Clare." They had just finished planning when they hear the Gryphon screeching. It had gained some height and started to dive toward them.

"I've got this." Dante says and steps out to meet the monster. "When I block its attack, that's your chance Flora." She nods and gets ready; her staff starts to crackle with lightning. Dante looks up at the Gryphon and draws his sword. The Gryphon is just feet away and moving at an incredible speed when Dante raises his sword. He and the Gryphon clash in a ring of steel and claws. Dante is forced to his knees with the impact of the monster's attack and he even sees a few points of his HP gage drop off. "Flora, now!" he yells just as the Gryphon raises one of its claws to attack. Just before it attacks again Flora darts from behind Dante. She is holding her staff like a spear and jabs the end of it at the Gryphon. As soon as she makes contact the Gryphon shrieks in pain, sounding like an injured eagle. With a power flap of its wings it starts to put some distance between itself and the players.

This time it approaches much more slowly, weary of its opponents. When it's closer it lunges, aiming for Flore this time. She brings up her staff and meets the monster's attack. This time Dante take advantage, sliding around its side, just before he attacks he hears someone yelling.

"The tail!" He whips his head just as a snake-shaped tail, mouth full of inch long, poisonous fangs, lunges for his face, moving too quickly for him to block or dodge. Just before it sinks its fangs into Dante an arrow whistles past him, straight down the snake's throat. It jerks to a halt and goes limp, dead. The Gryphon shrieks louder than before and pulls away; it starts to fly away, back toward the group of trees. Just before it disappears from sight, another arrow streaks past and Dante can barely see it pierce the Gryphon in the wing, causing it to fall into the trees.

"Man that was close." Dante says. He walks up to Clare. "Thanks for saving me, that snake almost had me. Those were amazing shots." Clare just stands there blushing until Flora walks up and puts an arm around her shoulders.

"That's my Clare; I told you she was a great shot. How could you forget about the Gryphon's tail?" She asks, turning to Dante.

"I don't know it must have slipped my mind. But we can't stop to talk now. We have to go into the trees and finish it off." Dante says.

"Yes, let us go." Clare says, she turns to walk away and Dante could swear he heard her whisper, "Thank you" before she was too far away. He smiles and follows her, with Flora behind him. They walked without talking until they were close to the trees.

"We need to be careful." Clare says softly.

"She's right, it might not be able to fly anymore but it's still fast and strong." Flora says.

"I'll take the lead, Clare behind me and Flora you bring up the rear in case it attacks from behind. We need to stay close together, to protect our sides too." Dante says. The girls nod and they make their way into the trees. After a few minutes of walking Clare taps on Dante's shoulder and points up. He looks up into the trees and sees a clear path of broken branches; on the ground are more broken branches and a few feathers. Deep claw marks make staggering trail into the trees, clearly showing that it is badly injured. Dante nods at Clare and they continue forward. Soon they start to hear scratching noises ahead of them. Dante signals and they each duck behind a tree. Dante peaks around his tree to see the Gryphon licking a wound at the base of one of its wings and the broken shaft of an arrow sticking out. Dante catches Clare's eye and gives her a thumbs up.

"If you buy me a few moments I can finish this with one more shot." She says so softly he's almost not sure she spoke at all. He nods and signals to Flora to follow him. He steps out from behind the tree and starts running toward the monster, with Flora close behind him. Startled the Gryphon tries to take to the air but falls before it gets more than a few inches off the ground, its injured wing giving out. It quickly regains its footing and sets up to defend itself. Dante starts to lunge at it but, at the last second, ducks and rolls to the side. The Gryphon follows him giving Flora the opening Dante planed for. She swings her lightning-charged staff as hard as she can up and under the Gryphon's chin. Its head snaps up and Flora hears a faint twang. She quickly rolls to the side opposite Dante and snaps her head up just in time to see an arrow bury itself into the Gryphon's throat. It immediately disappears in a flash of light, its cry echoing around the forest. A white screen appeared just like when they killed the Alpha, congratulating them. When it goes away the Exp screen appears and Dante see the kill helped him grow a level. He looks around and sees that Flora and Clare also leveled up.

"Well it looks like a job well done all around, congrats girls." Dante says.

"Man we really work well together." Flora says. "Maybe we should make our own little guild, just the three of us."

"Yeah." Dante says after thinking about it. "That sounds good, if Clare doesn't mind that is."

"Yes, it sounds fun." She says quietly.

"It's settled them, from now on we are the guild Wild Flowers!"

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Chapter 2 ASAP, just in case you liked the first one, here you go! I have seven chapters done and if i get a couple of reviews i will post two more at the samr time again. So you know what to do! (Read and Review)**


	3. Chapter 3

The Wild Roses?

"Flora, I'm sorry but, hell no." Dante says. They had just gotten back from their mission and had given proof, a Gryphon Feather, to the client and were at an inn, their food having just arrived. "I'm not going to be in a guild called The Wild Roses. I'm just not."

"Please Dante, I've been thinking of guild names since I started playing. It's my favorite." Flora whines. She turns to Clare, "Come on Clare, back me up, you like it too right."

"No, sorry." Clare says, not even looking up from her food. Flora looks around, desperate to change their minds, seeing nothing she starts eating, sulking into her food. After a few moments she looks up.

"Well then, what are we going to call it then, we have to have a name." She asks them.

"Do not know." Clare says her mouth full. Dante nods.

"She's right; give us some time to think about it. After all you had a week." Dante tells her.

"Alright, one week, if neither of you come up with something by then we go with The Wild Roses. Agreed?"She asks. They both nod. "Okay then now that that's settled. I have another job if you want to do it."

"What it's about?" Dante asks.

"A local smith, also a player, wants help gathering material. It's in a pretty dangerous area in this world so we might want to be careful." She tells him.

"Yeah, I have a question about that, how does this multiple world thing work anyway?" Dante asks.

"You don't know, well when you beat one world you unlock a pathway, on the path you have to choose which world you want to go to. The only thing is once you choose the world you can't pick a different world until you beat that one, but you can go back to any world you already beat. The best part is it only takes a second to switch world so you can have a base or something in one world but still work on beating the one you're in." She explains.

"Do not forget the monster levels." Clare tells her.

"Oh yeah, it's kind of important. Except for this world, which is set for beginners, the other worlds are ranked by level. For example you need to be at least level ten to enter the next world after this one. But if you stay here and get to level twenty, you can skip the next world, and move directly to the third one. The thing is though, it will take you a long time to do it that way because the monsters here are week, but if you don't mind sticking around for a while it's the thing to do."

"I don't like the sound of that, I would rather beat every world I can, I wouldn't want to skip any." Dante says.

"We do not either." Clare says. They finish their meal and head to the forge to meet their client. The forge is on the main trading road in Variety and they easily find it. When they step into the open forge room the heat hits them and they immediately start sweating, drops sliding down their faces. They follow the sounds a hammer ringing on steel and are a little puzzled at the person working. Instead of a huge muscled guy they see a red haired kid, completely absorbed in his work. After a few more swings the metal starts to glow and form into a sword. When the glowing stops he picks up the sword and tosses it into a box with a dozen others. That done he turns to them.

"Hi there, are you hear for a sword, I do custom orders." He says.

"No we're here to accept the mission you placed." Dante says stepping up to him and holding out his hand. "I'm Dante, and these are Flora and Clare." The smith takes Dante's offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Alan the smith. I'm glad someone finally took my mission, I've been waiting for a couple of weeks." Alan says.

"So, exactly what kind of material do you need?" Flora says.

"It's a certain kind flower I need. It's used to make some of the best weapons in this world and I would love to work with it. I would like you to go gather as many of them as you can." He explains.

"So what's the catch, the mission board said that only experienced parties should take the mission." Flora asks.

"Gathering the Dew Blossom flowers is easy because they're plentiful in a certain area. They only thing is they are the favorite food of some high level monsters. If you want to collect the flowers you might have to fight some of the monsters." Alan says.

"Plains Monkey, average level: 9, favorite food Dew Blossoms." Clare says, a screen floating in front of her.

"Right, if you guys think you can handle a few monkeys this mission would be perfect for you. As payment for this mission I will make you three the first weapons from the Dew Blossoms, guaranteed to be great weapons." Alan says.

"Sounds good, right girls?" Dante asks, they both nod and they all accept the mission. With the details figured out, they make their way to Variety's west gate and head out. Soon they are just outside the area where the flowers bloom. They ready their weapons and proceed. Soon they see a field filled with bright yellow flowers, their petals dripping with dew.

"Are those the flowers, Clare?" Dante asks.

"Yes." She answers and they approach the field. "I see Plains Monkeys." Sure enough Dante and Flora can just make out shapes moving in the distance. They reach the edge of the field and push into it.

"We need to be careful, there are a lot of them and we don't want to get surrounded. We should stay close to together, Clare keep a look for any monsters approaching while Flora and I gather some of the flowers." With the plan set they start, staying around the edge of the field they pick the Dew Blossom flowers. Very soon they have two dozen flowers and are getting ready to leave. Suddenly they hear a screeching and Clare screams. Dante whips his head up and sees a monkey standing over Clare, ready to attack. With as much speed as he can muster he rushes the monster and slams into it, sending them both rolling across the ground. When they stop Dante jumps away from the monster and draws his sword. With a quick thrust down Dante pins the monkey to the ground through the chest, it quickly disappears. Dante rushes back to Clare just as Flora is helping her up.

"Are you okay Clare?" He asks. Clare runs over to him and hugs him, thanking him over and over again. Dante hugs her back, "You're welcome, Clare. That's what friends are for, helping each other out."

"Umm, you two might want to get ready, there is a whole group to those monkeys coming this way." Flora warns them. They break apart and get ready for a fight, Dante and Flora up front with Clare behind them. When the six monkeys are a dozen feet away Clare makes her move. Using one of her archery skills she fires three arrows at once, each hitting a different target. Though the attack doesn't kill the monkeys, it weakens them significantly. The three she hit are smart enough to fall back and let their uninjured friends make the attack. The three monkeys tear up the ground under them with sharp nails and start charging, each making for a different target.

Dante swings his sword at the closest one, halting its charge. The other two head for Clare and Flora. Flora tries to stop both monkeys but only hits one, causing a sever burn on its shoulder. The third one slips under Flora's guard, making a beeline for Clare. Seeing the threat, Clare fires another arrow, this one meant to slow her attacker down. It works, hitting him in the leg, causing him to limp.

"Take care of those two, I will kill this one." Clare calls, ensuring that her partners can focus on their own attackers. She quickly backs up, away from the monster; keeping out of its striking range. Flora hears her and refocuses on her own target, as does Dante. With her staff alight with fire she charges the monster, wanting to finish the battle quickly. The monkey swipes at her with its uninjured arm, but Flora easily knocks it away and follows through with her own attack. She slams her staff down on its head, killing it in a burst of flame. She looks around to see Dante has also finished his opponent off with a quick sword thrust. She looks around for Clare and sees that she is in big trouble. She has not been able to kill the monkey chasing her and does not see the injured ones laying in wait to ambush her.

"I'll take out the three in the grass, you help Clare!" Flora calls. Dante nods and they rush to Clare's aid. Flora rushes past Clare startling both her and the monkey. She charges her staff with lightning and jumps into the group of monkeys hiding in the grass, scattering them. One is not quick enough and gets a fatal crack on the head. The other two start to work around Flora's sides, trying to out flank her. She is focusing on one, getting ready to attack when she hears a screech behind her. She spins just as the other monkey disappears, an arrow sticking in his back. She turns back to the first monkey just as it leaps toward her. She thrusts her staff up and hits the monster in the chest, driving electricity through its body, killing it. With all the monster defeated, the party regroups. Their experience screen appears but none of them grow a level.

"Well it looks like we have all the flowers we need, are you two ready to head back." Dante says.

"Yes, I hate monkeys." Clare answers. Their walk back is uneventful and they are soon return to Alan's forge. They find him just finishing up a huge axe, almost as large as he is.

"Hey guys, how did the mission go?" He asks them.

"We had a little trouble with some of those damn monkeys, but I think you will be happy." Dante says. He and Flore empty their item boxes of all the flowers they had gathered. Alan's face light up with a huge smile.

"Wow, this amount of Dew Blossoms will keep me in stock for at least six months! You three did an amazing job." He says happily. "If you guys come back in the morning I will have a weapon ready for each of you. I promise you they will be the best you can get."

"Yeah you can bet we will be back, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do Alan." Dante says. The party says goodbye to Alan and leave the forge. Clare lets out a huge yawn and Dante laughs.

"I agree, Clare. I thank I'm going to log out and get some sleep. What about you two?" Dante asks.

"That sounds good, when's the next time you can log on?" Flora asks Dante.

"I have nothing going on, so I'm free anytime." Dante says and Clare nods.

"I have some family stuff to do in the morning so I won't be here until noon." Flora tells them.

"That okay, Clare and I can hang out until you get here, right Clare?" Dante asks.

"Yes." She says, blushing a little. Flora gasps loudly.

"Wow, she must really like you, she never hangs out with anyone without me!" Flora exclaims. Clare moves closer to Flora and Flora jumps as Clare pinches her. "Ouch, what, it's true." Clare just shakes her head.

"So is nine good, Clare?" Dante asks. Clare nods and quickly logs out.

"I still can't believe it. This is the first time something like this has ever happened." Flora says, still amazed.

"I'm looking forward to it, she's very cute." Dante says.

"I just want to say one thing to you, Dante." Flora says, suddenly becoming very serious. "You have seen how Clare is; she really trusts and likes you. I promise you, if you do anything to hurt her you will suffer."

"Don't worry, I really do like her, I won't do anything to hurt her. I promise you that." Dante says also serious. Flora nods and logs out and Dante follows suit.

**Author's Note: Nothing really to say. I hope you liked the chapter and keep Reading and Reviewing.**


	4. Chapter 4

The Boss of the Plains

Flora arrives in Legacy just before noon in the town square. She starts looking around for Dante and Clare. She soon finds them, sitting on the edge of the fountain, very close together, holding hands, she hears Clare's laugh ringing around the square. Flora smiles and heads over to them.

"Hey there lovebirds, having fun?" Flora says. Clare jumps would have fallen into the fountain if a laughing Dante hadn't caught her. They stand, Dante refusing to let Clare's hand go, and greet their friend.

"Hey Flora, yes we did have a good time, right Clare?"

"Yes, it was fun." Clare says softly.

"Well I'm happy for you two, but we need to hurry to Alan's and get our payment for the last mission." Flora says. They agree and the head to Alan's forge. They get there and see a table with a large cloth covering it.

"It's about time you got here; I've been waiting for you for hours." Alan says stepping away from an anvil. Dante walks over to the table.

"I take it these are our weapons." Dante says and starts to lift the cloth. Dante jerks his hand back just before a hammer hits it.

"I will do the honors, thank you." Alan says. "This is Dewdrop." He slides a crystal clear bow from under the cloth. They have a hard time looking at it; their eyes keep wanting to slide away from it. He hands the bow to Clare. She sights it and pulls the string back. "Notice you have a hard time looking at it? For your enemies and monster it will be even harder to see, almost invisible, as are the arrows it shoots. It's perfect for stealth attacks."

"It is perfect, thank you." She says. Alan nods and smiles at her, then reaches under the cloth again. This time he pulls out a bronze short staff. He holds it out and it quickly extends until it's about five feet long. With a twirl he hands to over to Flora. She looks closely at it and sees flower and vine patterns engraved into the length of the staff.

"The Flowering Staff, with a thought you can make a thorn-like blade appear on either end. It's also poisonous, so be careful who you attack with it." He explains.

"Thank you, its wonderful." She says. Finally he pulls out a black sword with a red edged blade and hands it to Dante. "This is Wolfsbane; it has an ability that makes it much stronger against monsters than most swords."

"These weapons are amazing; we are going to have to remember to come back to you if we need anything else forged." Dante says gazing at his new weapon.

"One other thing, I could have made weapons like these with other materials, it's the Dew Blossom that makes them special. It gives them an added effect; these weapons will grow stronger with the player using them. That means the stronger you get, the stronger your weapon gets. Usually weapons with this ability cost hundreds of thousands of gold to buy, you're lucky I like you." Alan tells them.

Dante puts an arm around his shoulders, "You really are the man, Alan. You have just earned three costumers for life." Alan laughs and shakes his arm off.

"I look forward to working with you again; unfortunately it will have to wait. I have just made arrangements to move my forge to the next world, Crafting levels are different than combat levels and my smithing level just reached 10 so I can move on to the next world." Alan says with a smile.

"That wonderful, congratulations." Flora says, hugging him.

"Hey it's all thanks to you guys, it was working on your weapons that gave me the final level I needed." He says.

"Well we have to get going; we almost meet the requirements to get to the next level too." Dante says.

"Well I guess I'll see you soon then, make sure to stop by the forge when you do, you can tell me about the world boss." Alan says. They wave to him as they leave, then stop at a café to discuss their next move.

"So, do either of you know anything about the Boss?" Dante asks. Flora shakes her head.

"I only know that it is a rhinoceros-like monster that is very strong." Clare says.

"So we can assume it also has high defenses too." Dante says and Clare nods.

"It looks like my magic will be the most effective against it then." Flora says, "You two will have to back me up during the fight."

"Yeah we will distract it and when you have an opening make sure you use it to do as much damage as you can." Dante says. With their plan in place the make their way to the east gate of Variety. "Well, this might be the last time we see Variety."

"Yes, but I want to see the other worlds." Clare says.

"I agree, but you have to admit, this is a nice world, who knows we might not even be able to see the open sky in the next world." Dante says.

"It will defiantly be a change, so let's go beat this Boss so we can move on!" Flora exclaims. Dante and Clare agree and they walk away from Variety. After an hour of walking the scenery changes, at first it was a sunny field, covered in soft grasses with small monster running around in the distance. When they crossed into the boss's territory it starts to look more like an African savanna, foot high, dry grass rustling in an equal dry wind. Small dust whirlwinds whip up dirt and grit, making it hard to see in some places.

"We should get ready; the boss could be here any second." Dante says just as the ground starts to shake under them, throwing them off balance. Out of a large dust tornado the boss charges, heading directly for Dante. He works to steady his feet, jumping into a roll just as the huge rhino-like boss storms past him, but he is not fast enough to avoid the whole attack, getting clipped in the side by its heavy feet. He rolls to his feet, drawing his sword despite his injury. The Boss keeps charging, putting a good amount of distance between them. Flora and Clare run to Dante's side.

"Well, there's the boss, and he looks pissed." Dante says.

"Dust Rhino, Level 15, resistance to physical attack, weak to magic and susceptible to poison." Clare says. "They have a constant dust storm around their bodies to provide camouflage."

"Well this looks like it will be fun." Flora says.

"The next time it charges I'm going to try to distract it, that will be your chance to try and poison it with your staff. Clare you best bet would be to try to shoot it in its eyes, maybe blinding it will give us an advantage. Just remember to watch out for that damn horn." They all agree on the plan just as a dust storm starts coming toward them.

Dante draws his sword and runs toward the storm. When he can just barely see the Dust Rhino, which is easily eight feet tall with dust-colored, armor-like skin and a huge horn, through the storm he changes direction, turning at a right angle to the right. The monster turns faster than Dante thought possible, though his plan is working. He can see Flora running in a crouch to a spot ahead of the monster, she crouches and Dante angles again so he will lure the monster right past her. Dante runs past her and she gets ready. When it is directly in front of her she stands, thrusting her staff. It just barely pierces the soft hide of its underbelly.

"It is poisoned!" Clare shouts checking its status, making sure Dante and Flora hear her. Suddenly Dante whirls on the Dust Rhino, dodging to the side and running his sword along its flank. He only leaves a scratch though, proving Clare's analysis. The boss whips his head around, almost catching Dante with its horn. Suddenly the Rhino bellows in pain. Dante can barely see a near invisible arrow sticking out of its eye, courtesy of Clare. He uses the opening to back away from the monster, Flora however charges. Her staff charged with lightning, she uses the blade to slash along its leg, causing a deep wound. She starts to roll out of the way but the Rhino is faster, it kicks out at her, catching her in the stomach and sending her flying.

"Flora!" Dante cries and rushes to her side. She stands before he gets there.

"Don't let it kick you, it really fucking hurts." She says holding her stomach. "A couple more of those and I'll be dead."

"Dante, if you aim for the wound Flora made you should be able to hurt it." Clare says appearing beside them.

"Okay, nice shot by the way, you really pissed it off." Dante tells her. She smiles and disappears back into the grasses. "It's nice to know she has our back."

"Tell me about it, she's awesome. Now let's go take down a boss." Flora says. They look for the Dust Rhino and see it tearing around the grassland a few hundred feet away, it storm starting to weaken as it does. Dante can see its health gage, and for a second he is not sure why its life is slowly ticking away until he remembers Flora's poison. At first he is tempted to just wait it out but decides not to, there's no fun in that. Leaving Flora a few steps behind him he runs toward the Rhino. It's stilling throwing a tantrum and doesn't pay attention to them, so it's easy for them to each take a side and attack.

Taking Clare's advice, Dante thrusts his sword into the wound Flare made and watches as it sinks into the soft flesh under its armor. Flora uses her lightning and thrusts into its side sending jolts through its body. After making their attacks they keep running, meeting well behind it. Looking at its life again, Dante sees they are only a couple more strikes from defeating it. Suddenly he sees a sparkle come from the grass. Three crystal streaks flash and burry into the stab wound Flora just made. With a bellow the dust storm dies and so does the Dust Rhino. Clare stands and makes her way to the body as do Dante and Flora.

"Wait, why isn't it disappearing, something's wrong." Dante says, breaking into a run. "Clare, stay away from it!" Dante yells.

Clare just waves at them and starts walking around the Rhino. Dante sees it's back foot twitch and runs harder, Flora right behind him. Clare is bent down examining its horn when she sees its eye open. The dust storm starts up again, more fiercely than before and hit jerks its head up. Clare's eyes bulge and she looks down to see the Dust Rhino's horn imbedded in her stomach. It stands up and tosses her to the side. She slides to a halt just in front of Dante. He stops and kneels down, holding her head in his arms.

"Fuck Clare!" He yells. Flora slides to a stop and kneels down too.

"Dante! You need to keep that thing off us so I can heal her, she is barely alive but I need to hurry." She tells him. Dante just sits there looking at Clare until Flora slaps him, hard. This time he stands and looks toward the Dust Rhino. It had changed it appearance. Instead of being bulky with armor, it looked like all the armor had dropped off. Now it was slim and sleek, its skin still the color of dust. Even its horn is different, a lot thinner than it was. The strange thing is there is a faint red glow coming off it. Dante can tell just from looking that is a lot faster than before and just as strong. Dante readies his sword and charges.

Before the Rhino notices him he lands an attack, able to cut deeply not that it's not armored. Faster the Dante could follow it whips its head around slashes at Dante with its horn. If he hadn't already been missing his arm, he would be now, the horn catching the pined up sleeve and tearing it loose. Now that Dante knows how fast it is he attacks back. Taking small risks he lunges in and stabs at the Dust Rhino, jumping back or sliding to the side just in time to avoid its horn. He keeps circling around to his right, taking advantage of his loose sleeve flapping in the dust storm to help distract the boss. He keeps attacking totally focused on the horn of the monster that he doesn't see it change attacks. After Dante had slashed it the Rhino, instead of slashing to the side like it always had, decided to kick out instead. Dante is knocked sprawling onto his back in the dirt.

The Rhino rounds on him and rears up on its hind legs, ready to crush Dante under its large feet. Just before it starts to fall forward he sees a lightning charged staff slam into it, sending it toppling onto its side. Flora runs and jumps over it, yanking her staff out as she does. A small pair of hands grip Dante under his arms and helps him to his feet. He looks over his shoulder and sees Clare, dusting his back off. He quickly sweeps her up in a big hug, spinning her around.

"Dante thank you for saving me but we need to help Flora." Clare laughs as he spins her. Dante puts her down softly and picks his sword up. With a look at Clare to make sure she is alright he runs to Flora's side. The Rhino had gotten to his feet and it and Flora were trading attacks, Flora not quite as quick as Dante, is taking damage from small scratches. Before Dante can reach her half a dozen arrows sprout from the side to the Dust Rhino's head and he sees Clare standing off to the side. It's distracted enough for Flora to take a step back, breathing heavily. Dante steps up to her side and they nod at each other.

They charge the Boss again, each taking a side. Dante slashes multiple times, cutting it severely in the side. It starts to turn on him when Flora makes her move, keeping some distances as she does, and stabs it, her lightning infuses staff sinking a foot or more into its body. It bellows, confused, not sure who to attack. Before it can make up its mind, more arrows slam into it, concentrated on its front leg. It falls onto its knees and Dante and Flora share a look over its shoulder. Quickly they both step up to it, just behind its head and thrust their weapons into its neck. It starts to thrash around, ripping their weapons from their grasp. Flora starts to try and retrieve hers when Dante stops her.

"Look at its life, it's done for." He tells her. Its life gage had disappeared, signaling that is was dead. Its body was sticking around however and they were ready for a repeat of before. Its body stilled and the red glow started to seep upward, gathering over the body. When the pool of red was thick enough it started to drip, but toward the sky not the ground. About twenty feet above them a small portal opened and the red liquid dripped into it. After a minute it was gone and they were left staring at each other.

"Do you have any idea what the hell that was?" Dante asks the girls.

"No I've never heard of anything like that happening, right Clare?" Flora says and Clare nods. Before they can think about it anymore the experience screen appears; it show that they all received a level up, putting Dante and Flora at ten and Clare at thirteen, and they each receive the Dust Rhino Hide item. When it disappears another screen pops up.

"Congratulations on completing the World of Plains!" The same female voice as the beginning of the game says. "Your party has fulfilled the requirements needed to move onto the next world. Would you like the enter The Pathway?" It asks, and a screen with Yes or No appears.

"Well, are we ready to move on?" Dante asks.

"You bet we are!" Flora exclaims.

"Yes, let us go." Clare says.

"On the count of three, then." Dante says and they get ready. "One, two, three!" They all click the button at the same time and the world around them disintegrates.

**Author's Note: A near miss for Clare but they managed to beat the boss. What will the next world be like, tune in for the next chapter for Legacy!**


	5. Chapter 5

The Second World

After a few moments of darkness, Dante, Flora, and Clare start to see pin pricks all around them. A path appears under them and starts winding through what they now know are starts. In between the starts galaxies appear, spiraling in space, glowing different colors, reds, blues, greens and many other colors. With a shrug Dante starts walking down the softly glowing path and Flora and Clare follow him. Soon the path splits and Dante stops.

"Well, what do you two think?" He asks.

"Look." Clare says, pointing down the path on their left. Just a few feet down each path is a small model. The one on the left looks like a desert, they can see a strong wind blowing and sand swirling in a big storm. On the right is a dome that looks like it's sitting on the bottom of the ocean, monsters swimming around the outside and what looks like mermaids swimming inside it. It's clear they have to choose which world they want to enter.

"Well we don't really have a choice, do we?" Flora says. Dante gives her a questioning look and she explains, "Look at the bottom of the water world, it says you have to be level 18 or higher to enter."

"You're right, looks like we're heading to the desert. I hope you guys like the heat." Dante says.

"It is better than the cold." Clare says.

"Okay, let's get going." Flora says and takes the lead as they head down the left path. The closer to the model they get the more it fades. The farther they walk the more the world around them starts to change. The stars and galaxies disappear and a bright blue sky replaces them. A wind blows, laced with sand and heat. The path turns into sand and then they are in the new world. Looking behind them, Dante sees the pathway has completely vanished, instead he sees rolling sand dunes and shimmering heat waves.

"Wow, I've never been this hot in my life!" Flora says. Dante glances at Clare and they smile at the silent joke.

"Your right, we need to get out of this heat soon, a few hours of this and we'll be hallucinating." Dante says. He sees Clare pull up a map.

"The nearest town is in that direction." She tells them, pointing straight ahead. With nothing better to do they make their way to the town. Just after they started walking, something on the top of a sand dune just ahead of them moves. The trio stops and readies their weapons, cautious in the new world. Nothing else moves so they keep walking, each still on the lookout. They are just passing the spot where they saw something move when they are attacked. To Dante's left the sand explodes out and a humanoid lizard monster leaps out; all along both sides of the dunes more lizards leap out of cover. They are about four feet tall, the same color as the sand. They have a random assortment of weapons short swords, hand axes, daggers; one even has the sharp end of a broken spear. Along with the weapons they have patches of armor, leather and bronze metal strapped in random places on their bodies.

The lizard closet to Dante leaps at him, slicing with its short sword. Dante blocks with his own sword and attacks back, slicing the monster in half. _Well, at least their weak._ Dante thinks, dodging an attack from axe wielding lizard then killing it with a thrust through the chest. Dante takes a moment and looks for his companions. Flora is blocking with her staff, every time she does the monster that attacked her gets a nasty shock from the lightning running along her weapon. Clare has climbed the sand dune to their right and is killing the monsters trying to follow her. As Dante watches she hits one in the chest, sending it tumbling down the dune where it dies in a burst of light.

Dante hears a sound behind him and turns sees a lizard bigger than the rest trying to sneak up behind him. This one is just taller than Dante and is using a big two-handed sword. Just as Dante sees it leaps to attack, swinging the big sword at Dante's head. He ducks, feeling the sword whistle through the air inches above his head. The lizard stumbles from the force of the swing and Dante makes his own attack, taking a chunk out of the lizard's side. It screeches in pain and takes another swing at Dante. This time Dante is able to deflect the attack, sending the sword to the side and burying the blade in the sand. Acting quickly Dante slices down with his sword, beheading the monster. It's not until its dead he gets a chance to really look at it and see a red glow just like the Rhino boss. The same liquid seeps upward and disappears, the same as before. Just as it disappears, he hears footsteps running up behind him; he spins ready to keep fighting until he sees it's just Flora and Clare.

"I guess that was the welcoming committee. It wasn't too bad of a fight." Dante comments, keeping the red liquid to himself.

"Yeah, a lot easier than the last one." Flora says, remembering the boss battle just a little while ago. With the monsters dispatched they resume their walk to town, a little more cautious than before. The make it to the town with no more incidents. The town as small, a couple dozen mud brick houses built around an oasis with a few tents scattered around too. They immediately head for the, oddly red, shimmering water and Flora dunks her head under it. She pulls back gasping for air after almost a minute underwater

"Man that feels good. I think I'm going to hate this place." Flora says, her hair dripping wet.

"Did you notice that the water is red?" Dante asks.

"Oh it is, oh well at least its cold." She says shrugging.

"I love the heat, it's so much better that the cold." Dante says.

"I agree, I hate the cold." Clare says.

"Well then you two will just have to put up with me complaining until we leave this hellish world." Flora says glaring at the both of them. Dante laughs and Clare smiles.

"Dante, Flora, Clare! I thought I recognized your voices. How are your new weapons fairing?" Someone says. They turn around and see a familiar red-head walking toward them.

"Hey Alan, it's good to see you again, your weapons are amazing." Dante says, greeting their friend.

"You too, although I didn't expect to see you so soon, I've barely had time to settle in." He tells them. "How was the boss fight?"

"Tough." Clare says.

"You can say that again, we almost lost you. The damn thing gored her." Dante says, angry at the memory. "Speaking of the boss fight have you ever heard of something like this happening?" Dante shows him a recording of the red pool vanishing into a portal.

"Actually yes, I just heard a couple of other players talking about it. Apparently it's some kind of bug in the game. Anytime you see the red glow around a monster it means it is much stronger than normal. I have even heard rumors that someone has hacked the system and is screwing with it. I don't know what the reasoning behind any of it is, but you might want to watch out for it." Alan explains.

"Thanks for the warning." Dante says. "I have another question; can you do anything with this?" Dante pulls the Dust Rhino Hide out of his items and hands it to Alan.

"Did you each get one of these?" He asks. The girls look in their items and nod. "Good, follow me." He leads them to a forge just outside of a small tent.

"It's only temporary, this world has a lot of small towns and I need to be mobile, always following the work." He tells them. The forge looks much the same as before and they can see he has already had work.

"So, what can you make from these?" Flora asks.

"Well first thing first." He sets the hide down and starts Identifying it. After a few seconds he turns to them. "You're lucky, I will be able to make the perfect armor for this world, it will be strong and keep you cool in the heat. In this world keeping cool and hydrated will be two of your main concerns."

"Do you have everything you need?" Clare asks.

"Yes, what you don't have I have stockpiled. I always keep every item I come across, just in case." He tells them. "Just to let you know, this time you are going to have to pay me, not too much, just the cost of the extra items and my labor."

"We wouldn't expect anything less. When can you have them ready?" Dante asks.

"Well seeing how late it is, I probably won't start until tomorrow and I have school. Just come by around three, I will have your armor ready by then." He says.

"Sounds good, we'll see you tomorrow." Dante says. They say they're goodbyes and leave, stopping, again, at the oasis. Flora dunked her head into the water again, cooling herself off.

"Well it's getting late; I'm thinking I'm going to log out for the night." Dante says looking at the last of the sun sinking behind the horizon.

"You're right, I need to be getting back too, my family will be expecting me for dinner." Flora says.

"Alright then, meet you two here around three then." Dante says. He pulls up the log out menu but stops. "One, more thing." He leans down and gives Clare a quick kiss on the lips. She lets out a small gasp and Dante laughs as he logs out.

"Wow you two really hit it off, didn't you?" Flora asks. Clare just nods, blushing furiously. Flora chuckles and logs out as well, leaving Clare standing alone by the oasis. After a few more seconds she too disappears.s


	6. Chapter 6

The Second World

After a few moments of darkness, Dante, Flora, and Clare start to see pin pricks all around them. A path appears under them and starts winding through what they now know are starts. In between the starts galaxies appear, spiraling in space, glowing different colors, reds, blues, greens and many other colors. With a shrug Dante starts walking down the softly glowing path and Flora and Clare follow him. Soon the path splits and Dante stops.

"Well, what do you two think?" He asks.

"Look." Clare says, pointing down the path on their left. Just a few feet down each path is a small model. The one on the left looks like a desert, they can see a strong wind blowing and sand swirling in a big storm. On the right is a dome that looks like it's sitting on the bottom of the ocean, monsters swimming around the outside and what looks like mermaids swimming inside it. It's clear they have to choose which world they want to enter.

"Well we don't really have a choice, do we?" Flora says. Dante gives her a questioning look and she explains, "Look at the bottom of the water world, it says you have to be level 20 or higher to enter."

"You're right, looks like we're heading to the desert. I hope you guys like the heat." Dante says.

"It is better than the cold." Clare says.

"Okay, let's get going." Flora says and takes the lead as they head down the left path. The closer to the model they get the more it fades. The farther they walk the more the world around them starts to change. The stars and galaxies disappear and a bright blue sky replaces them. A wind blows, laced with sand and heat. The path turns into sand and then they are in the new world. Looking behind them, Dante sees the pathway has completely vanished, instead he sees rolling sand dunes and shimmering heat waves.

"Wow, I've never been this hot in my life!" Flora says. Dante glances at Clare and they smile at the silent joke.

"Your right, we need to get out of this heat soon, a few hours of this and we'll be hallucinating." Dante says. He sees Clare pull up a map.

"The nearest town is in that direction." She tells them, pointing straight ahead. With nothing better to do they make their way to the town. Just after they started walking, something on the top of a sand dune just ahead of them moves. The trio stops and readies their weapons, cautious in the new world. Nothing else moves so they keep walking, each still on the lookout. They are just passing the spot where they saw something move when they are attacked. To Dante's left the sand explodes out and a humanoid lizard monster leaps out; all along both sides of the dunes more lizards leap out of cover. They are about four feet tall, the same color as the sand. They have a random assortment of weapons, short swords, hand axes, daggers; one even has the sharp end of a broken spear. Along with the weapons they have patches of armor, leather and bronze metal strapped in random places on their bodies.

The lizard closet to Dante leaps at him, slicing with its short sword. Dante blocks with his own sword and attacks back, slicing the monster in half. Well, at least their weak. Dante thinks, dodging an attack from axe wielding lizard then killing it with a thrust through the chest. Dante takes a moment and looks for his companions. Flora is blocking with her staff, every time she does the monster that attacked her gets a nasty shock from the lightning running along her weapon. Clare has climbed the sand dune to their right and is killing the monsters trying to follow her. As Dante watches she hits one in the chest, sending it tumbling down the dune where it dies in a burst of light.

Dante hears a sound behind him and turns sees a lizard bigger than the rest trying to sneak up behind him. This one is just taller than Dante and is using a big two-handed sword. Just as Dante sees it, it leaps to attack, swinging the big sword at Dante's head. He ducks, feeling the sword whistle through the air inches above his head. The lizard stumbles from the force of the swing and Dante makes his own attack, taking a chunk out of the lizard's side. It screeches in pain and takes another swing at Dante. This time Dante is able to deflect the attack, sending the sword to the side and burying the blade in the sand. Acting quickly Dante slices down with his sword, beheading the monster. It's not until its dead he gets a chance to really look at it and see a red glow just like the Rhino boss. The red liquid seeps upward and disappears, the same as before. Just as it disappears, he hears footsteps running up behind him; he spins ready to keep fighting until he sees it's just Flora and Clare.

"I guess that was the welcoming committee. It wasn't too bad of a fight." Dante comments, keeping the red liquid to himself.

"Yeah, a lot easier than the last one." Flora says, remembering the boss battle just a little while ago. With the monsters dispatched they resume their walk to town, a little more cautious than before. They make it to the town with no more incidents. The town is small, a couple dozen mud brick houses built around an oasis with a few tents scattered around too. They immediately head for the, oddly red, shimmering water and Flora dunks her head under it. She pulls back gasping for air after almost a minute underwater.

"Man that feels good. I think I'm going to hate this place." Flora says, her hair dripping wet.

"Did you notice that the water is red?" Dante asks.

"Oh, it is, oh well at least it's cold." She says shrugging.

"I love the heat, it's so much better that the cold." Dante says.

"I agree, I hate the cold." Clare says.

"Well then you two will just have to put up with me complaining until we leave this hellish world." Flora says glaring at the both of them. Dante laughs and Clare smiles.

"Dante, Flora, Clare! I thought I recognized your voices. How are your new weapons fairing?" Someone says. They turn around and see a familiar red-head walking toward them.

"Hey Alan, it's good to see you again, your weapons are amazing." Dante says, greeting their friend.

"You too, although I didn't expect to see you so soon, I've barely had time to settle in." He tells them. "How was the boss fight?"

"Tough." Clare says.

"You can say that again, we almost lost you. The damn thing gored her." Dante says, angry at the memory. "Speaking of the boss fight have you ever heard of something like this happening?" Dante shows him a recording of the red pool vanishing into a portal.

"Actually yes, I just heard a couple of other players talking about it. Apparently it's some kind of bug in the game. Anytime you see the red glow around a monster it means it is much stronger than normal. I have even heard rumors that someone has hacked the system and is screwing with it. I don't know what the reasoning behind any of it is, but you might want to watch out for it." Alan explains.

"Thanks for the warning." Dante says. "I have another question; can you do anything with this?" Dante pulls the Dust Rhino Hide out of his items and hands it to Alan.

"Did you each get one of these?" He asks. The girls look in their items and nod. "Good, follow me." He leads them to a forge just outside of a small tent.

"It's only temporary, this world has a lot of small towns and I need to be mobile, always following the work." He tells them. The forge looks much the same as before and they can see he has already had work.

"So, what can you make from these?" Flora asks.

"Well first thing first." He sets the hide down and starts Identifying it. After a few seconds he turns to them. "You're lucky, I will be able to make the perfect armor for this world, it will be strong and keep you cool in the heat. In this world keeping cool and hydrated will be two of your main concerns."

"Do you have everything you need?" Clare asks.

"Yes, what you don't have I have stockpiled. I always keep every item I come across, just in case." He tells them. "Just to let you know, this time you are going to have to pay me, not too much, just the cost of the extra items and my labor."

"We wouldn't expect anything less. When can you have them ready?" Dante asks.

"Well seeing how late it is, I probably won't start until tomorrow and I have school. Just come by around three, I will have your armor ready by then." He says.

"Sounds good, we'll see you tomorrow." Dante says. They say they're goodbyes and leave, stopping, again, at the oasis. Flora dunked her head into the water again, cooling herself off.

"Well it's getting late; I'm thinking I'm going to log out for the night." Dante says looking at the last of the sun sinking behind the horizon.

"You're right, I need to be getting back too, my family will be expecting me for dinner." Flora says.

"Alright then, meet you two here around three then." Dante says. He pulls up the log out menu but stops. "One, more thing." He leans down and gives Clare a quick kiss on the lips. She lets out a small gasp and Dante laughs as he logs out.

"Wow you two really hit it off, didn't you?" Flora asks. Clare just nods, blushing furiously. Flora chuckles and logs out as well, leaving Clare standing alone by the oasis. After a few more seconds she too disappears.

Author's Note: Nothing really to say, I just found some chapters I already had written and decided to post them. Posted once a week, I have about a month and a half's worth and I plan on writing more. So, thanks for reading and please review. 


	7. Chapter 7

Shattered Hearts

Flora appears in town, right next to the oasis. It's early morning; the sun is just floating over the horizon, already heating up the cool air. She walks around the oasis and finds a tree close to the water; she sits down and leans against it. It's so early in the morning that no one is here. She closes her eyes and tries to untangle her emotions. Ever since Dante and Clare started going out she had been feeling very jealous. Every time she saw them together she just wanted to scream. She didn't want to feel this way about them but she couldn't help it. She wanted them to all be friends, she tried to ignore when they were close together, focus on their quest but every time she looked at them her feelings bubbled to the surface. Tears start trickling under her closes eyelids. She sits there she lets the tears flow freely until she feels a shadow fall on her.

"Flora, what is wrong?" A familiar voice says making her heart jump. She looks up to see Clare leaning down to her, Dante standing behind her. Not right now, I can't see them now. Flora thinks. She quickly wipes her eyes and puts on a strained smile.

"Nothing, just doing some thinking." She says, but they can hear her voice wavering. Clare sits down beside her and puts an arm around her and Dante sits down on her other side.

"You can tell us anything, you know that right?" Dante tells her.

"Yeah, it's just something I have to work through myself." She tells them. "What are you two doing here this early anyway?"

"To tell you the truth, we haven't left since last night." Dante says, smiling at Clare. "We had a fun night, didn't we Clare?"

"Yes, it was wonderful." She says. Flora looks at her and sees Clare's eyes light up with the memory and Flora's heart drops. She stands up abruptly, startling Dante and Clare.

"I can't do this anymore!" She yells. She walks away from them quickly, heading around the oasis. She hears footstep behind her and a soft hand grabs her arm. She stops walking and suddenly spins around. She cups Clare's face in her hands and brings her own down, her eyes closed. Clare just stands there, shocked, as Flora kisses her. After a few seconds Flora's eyes snap open and she pulls back quickly.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. Damn it, now I've fucked everything up!" she screams and disolves into tears. Clare recovers and starts to pull Flora into a hug, but she jerks away.

"What is going on, Flora?" Clare asks. Dante is in the background, giving the two girls some space.

"I tried, I really did, but I can't do it anymore. Every time I see you with him I start to lose my mind. We've been friends for years and I know you don't feel the same as I do but I didn't care. As long as I was close to you everything was alright. But seeing you with him is too much. I love you Clare!" Flora says in a rush of emotions. Clare's eyes widen, shocked. She starts to say something, though she is not sure what, but Flora stops her with a finger on her lips.

"Don't say anything, please. I know nothing will ever happen between us and it breaks my heart. I have to leave." She says. She looks over Clare's shoulder at Dante, "Dante, I'm sorry. Please take care of her. Meet up with her in the real world and protect her and keep her happy. I know you won't hurt her and, despite everything, I am happy we met you." Dante gives her a grim nod and Flora turns back to Clare. She takes one last long look at her, memorizing her beautiful face, and turns away, quickly logging out. Clare starts to do the same thing but Dante stops her.

"She needs some time alone, Clare." He says gently. Clare doesn't say anything, just buries her head in Dante's chest and cries. He holds her tightly as she cries, fighting back tears himself. After a few minutes she slowly pulls away, drying her eyes with her scarf.

"I never knew how she felt." Clare says softly. "I love her too, but as my best friend not anything more." She explains.

"I've only know you two for a little while but I know how you feel. I love you and Flora." He says. She looks at him and starts to tear up again.

"I just don't want to lose my best friend." She says and the tears overflow, spilling down her face. Dante hugs her again, whispering comforting words to her.

"Don't worry; I'm sure she doesn't either. She just needs time to sort herself out." He assures her. Clare stops crying and starts to calm down. "What do you want to do?"

"I do not know what should we do without Flora?" She says feeling lost.

"I know one thing; she wouldn't want us to sit around moping." He tells her. "I think we should find a quest or request to work on."

"You are right. We should work of making ourselves stronger for when she comes back." Clare agrees. They are just getting ready to head for the quest board when another of their friends runs up to them.

"Hey guys, how are things going?" Alan asks. Clare's face drops and Dante pulls Alan aside and explains what happened. "I'm sorry Clare; I really liked Flora too, I'm sad to see her go." He opens his arms offering her a hug which she takes. After a minute they pull apart.

"Well I have something that might take your mind off Flora. I'm moving my forge to a bigger town a few days from here. I already hired a couple of guards but I wanted to ask you guys if you wanted to come along. So, how about it?" He asks. Dante looks at Clare and she nods.

"Sounds perfect, Alan. When are you planning to leave?" Dante asks.

"As soon as you guys are ready, the others are waiting by the town gate." He tells them. Dante and Clare are ready, noting having anything to take with them, and they head to the gate, arriving in only a minute.

"Dante!" Someone screams and he's almost knocked to the ground as someone tackle-hugs him from his bad side. He looks down and sees a very short brunette latched onto his side. He looks around for help, not able to reach her with his arm to pry her off him. With a sigh another person steps out of the crowd around the gate and grabs the girl around the waist and pulls her off him. She starts struggling in his grip, her legs kicking a foot off the ground as he holds her back.

"Sorry about that, Amelia is a little crazy." Alex says to Dante. "I'm going to put you down now, be good or else." He tells his sister. She pouts a little but agrees and he puts her down. She smiles up at Dante.

"Are you coming with us? This will be so much fun! We can really get to know each other, I can't wait!" She says quickly, bouncing around Dante. He smiles at her antics until he sees Clare scowling at him. He quickly puts his arm around her and kisses her on the cheek. She smiles at him but keeps eyeing Amelia.

"It looks like we will be together for the next few days. I look forward to working with you." Dante says, holding his hand out to Alex, who takes it.

"I'm looking forward to it. It will be nice to hang out with a guy instead of just my sister." He says glancing at Amelia, who is batting her eyelashes at Dante. "Sorry about her, she's a little wild; I have my hands full controlling her."

"Alex, don't says things like that!" Amelia says punching her brother in the arm.

"Alright people, let's get going." Alan says, breaking up the sibling fight that was starting brew. "We have a long way to go and we need to head out ASAP." They take up their positions and head out. Dante leads the way, being the strongest, and Amelia is right behind him, to Clare's dismay. Amelia is a mage but different from what Flora is. Amelia specializes in long range spell instead of close range ones like Flora. Amelia would back up Dante with things like fireball and ice needles. Behind them are Alan and Clare, who is in charge of keeping Alan safe and killing anything that slips through Dante and Amelia. Lastly Alex, wielding a two-handed broad sword, brings up the rear incase of ambushes from behind; Clare will back him up also if need be. With their formation set they head off into the blistering heat of the desert. After walking for a couple of hours without anything happening they decide to take a break.

"Be sure to keep an eye out on the dunes around us, Clare and I have already been attacked by monsters hiding under the sand." Dante, the de facto leader, tells everyone. The group settles onto the sand and start passing around a canteen full of water. Soon they start up again, trudging their way through the sand and wind. In the middle of the night they reach one to the safe zones, about a third off the way to the next town. They decide to stop for the night and start setting up camp.

Dante pitches his tent, which they need because the desert is very cold at night, and looks around. Clare is next to him, putting up her own tent. Alex is arguing with Amelia, who wants to ask Dante if he wants to share a tent with her. Alan has set up part of his forge and is working on a set of armor. Dante pulls out the things he needs for a fire and starts one in the middle of the tents. Soon the others are gathered around it with him and they start talking. Alex is asking Alan what it's like to be a smith instead of a fighter. Amelia is sitting by Alex, against her will, but is sliding slowly around the fire to Dante, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Clare is sitting on Dante's good side staring into the fire, thinking about Flora. Dante brings up his main menu and is sad to see Flora's name is gone from his friends list. He is about to close it when he sees he has a message. He opens it and is surprised to see it's from Flora. He starts to read it and smiles.

"Clare, check you messages." Dante tells her. She jerks her attention away from the fire and does so. She sees the same message from Flora and reads it, when she is done her eyes start to glisten but she is smiling.

"I told you she just needed some time." Dante says. The message had said that Flora was still sorting through her feelings and needed some time away from both of them. It went on to say she is still their friend and already misses both of them. She hopes she will see them soon but until then she loves both of them. Clare snuggles against Dante's side and he puts his arm around her.

"Alright guys, I'm going to hit the sack." Alan says as they can't log out because they are in the field, not a town or inn. He says good night to everyone and disappears into his tent.

"That sounds like a good idea." Alex says. He gives Amelia a look, "You be good."

"Don't worry, I'm going to bed too." She assures him and, with a last look at Dante, goes into her tent as well. With a quick nod to Dante, Alex goes into his tent also. After a few minutes Dante's eyes start to close. He looks down at Clare and sees she is already asleep. With a smile he gives her a shoulder a little shake. She wakes up and looks up at him with sleepy eyes.

"Sorry I had to wake you, but I can't carry you with only one arm." He tells her. She glances at his missing arm and starts to stand. Dante watches her walk sleepily to his tent and hold the flap open.

"Can I sleep with you?" She asks softly, blushing. Dante smiles and walks to her. He grabs her hand and leads her into his tent. They lay down and Clare snuggles up to Dante's chest and curls into a little ball. He puts his arm around her and pulls her close, curling his own body around hers. With the last heat of the desert leaving the air he pulls a blanket over the both of them and falls asleep.

Author's Note: So big drama with Flora, bet you didn't see that one coming. So… not really anything to say. I hope you liked the chapter, more to come. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review, you could by my first… 


End file.
